Ok I wanted to update everyone with the pregnancy but also included my rheumy appt I had yesterday in this post to keep it less complicated lol

Baby is great. :) She is 1lb 2ozs and the placenta has not changed at all, fluid levels are great and so is the length of my cervix. I will be 24 weeks tomorrow. As far as right now they dont see any flags raised so my chance for premature birth is low. My water broke with my son at 27 weeks so I'll just be a little more relieved when I pass that! lol I will post a new profile pic of her when I get the chance. I still have to have a c-section though because of my state laws..ehh.

As for the rheumy appt, even though ive been having flare symptoms they do not want to put me on prednisone during the pregnancy unless it gets severe because it can increase the risk for a preterm birth. That is probably what I will go on after I have the baby though so I can still breastfeed. She doesn't think the Plaquenil is doing much for me and neither do I. I dont have to see her again until 6 months which will be December 9th(the 2-3 months when you usually see flaring from hormone fluctuations). What she did mention was after the baby is born, she has been thinking about me a lot and my symptoms and wants me to get checked for IBD(inflammatory bowel disease)and get a colonscopy & endoscopy on top of the mri/mra w/ & w/out contrast dye for the seizure evaluation. I have been doing some research on this but wanted opinions from people on here who have it or know about it and what the diagnostic criteria are and what treatments are used for this? As of right now I kind of cross between Lupus & IBD but dont technically fit the criteria for either according to my rheumy. Although if you look at the diagnostic criteria for Lupus, I have the following(all the x's are what I have):

Clinical Criteria for Diagnosing Lupus:
4 or more of these 11 symptoms will help determine diagnosis. Recently, a new Lupus diagnosis criteria was adopted requiring 3 of 10 symptoms similar to the ones below, and appropriate screening of Anti-Nuclear Antibodies (ANA) blood test to make final diagnosis.

Criterion Definition
Malar Rash: Rash over the cheeks (X)
Discoid Rash: Red raised patches
Photosensitivity: Reaction to sunlight, resulting in the development of or increase in skin rash (X)
Oral Ulcers: Ulcers in the nose or mouth, usually painless (X)
Arthritis: Nonerosive arthritis involving two or more peripheral joints (arthritis in which the bones around the joints do not become destroyed) (X)
Serositis: Pleuritis or pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the lung or heart)
Renal Disorder: Excessive protein in the urine (greater than 0.5 gm/day or 3+ on test sticks) and/or cellular casts (abnormal elements the urine, derived from red and/or white cells and/or kidney tubule cells)
Neurologic
Disorder: Seizures (convulsions) and/or psychosis in the absence of drugs or metabolic disturbances which are known to cause such effects. (X)
Hematologic
Disorder:Hemolytic anemia or leukopenia (white blood count below 4,000 cells per cubic millimeter) or lymphopenia (less than 1,500 lymphocytes per cubic millimeter) or thrombocytopenia (less than 100,000 platelets per cubic millimeter). The leukopenia and lymphopenia must be detected on two or more occasions. The thrombocytopenia must be detected in the absence of drugs known to induce it.
Antinuclear
Antibody:Positive test for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in the absence of drugs known to induce it. (X)
Immunologic
Disorder:Positive anti-double stranded anti-DNA test, positive anti-Sm test, positive antiphospholipid antibody such as anticardiolipin, or false positive syphilis test (VDRL).
Information provided by:
www.lupus.org

Now let me know if I cant count right or something but doesn't it seem to be enough criteria to meet lupus? Why are they saying I dont have enough? Hope you all are well! *hugs* -Brittanee

Nonna

06-05-2010, 06:34 AM

I don't think they are saying you don't have enough. They seem to be doing what my docs are. You have this so we want to cover all bases and check for this also.

Do I sound totally confused or confusing????

I'm so glad Baby is doing well. (((((HUGS))))))

nonna

Mommyof1

06-06-2010, 08:52 PM

Ok at first I was confused but I reread it and I think I get what you mean. We fit criteria for Lupus but they want to make sure it's not JUST Lupus and make sure nothing else is involved so they can treat the right way for either just Lupus or the combo of things going on....is that what you mean??? lol If not I guess my Lupie Brain is just not getting it haha Thank you and I hope/pray the pregnancy goes well too :) I am more worried about after though like my drs are. Ehh. Take care! -Britt